The Gold Island
Geography The geography of the Gold Island is bifurcated by the Mez river, which runs through the capital. That said, the island is very flat. The Southeast The southeastern side of the island is dominated by flat jungle that quickly overgrows any non-maintained buildings. It is full of flora and fauna that is unknown in other parts of the world. This wildlife includes poisonous flowers, massive monkeys, and the native forest gnomes. The Mez River The Mez river is incredibly significant to the geography, ecology, and society of the island. It is the largest river in the isles in terms of water levels. It runs right through the city of Mez. The flowing of the Mez is responsible for the drastic difference in ecology between the west and east of the island. As the western part of the island tends sits about fifty feet above the east, the water of the river flows into many tributaries to the east, and quickly dries up in the west. The Northwest Across the Mez is one of the only true deserts of the isles. The desert tends to be the most dense in between the shore and the river, with water levels increasing as you get further to the edges. The creatures of the desert are strange and foreign to travelers, and small societies of monstrous humanoids are known to have cropped up. These villages often live off of raiding trade routes that run through the desert. Locations Mez Mez is named after the river it sits on, and is known as a powerful city in the isles. It is the largest, and capital city on the Gold Island. It is inhabited by mainly humans and vedalken, and forms the base of operations for both the government and the Tzolk'in protectors. The defining feature, and most often remembered structure, in the city is the Royal Palace of Kinich Ahau. It is a massive step-pyramid constructed out of layers of massive gears. They are layered one on top of the other, so that each step of the pyramid is made of another gear. These gears all rotate slowly, supposedly telling the time and date. Inside the pyramid there are three sections: the Archives, which store the collective information of all scientists in the Isles, the High Church, which acts as a base of operations and a place of worship for all the schools of the Protectors, and the Royal Palace, which is the base of the government. The palace itself is meant to be an example to the people of what can be accomplished through collaboration. Orua So Orua So is a town/research outpost deep in the jungles of the Gold Island. It is the base of operations for the School of Time, and is therefore the hub of their scientific endeavors. The town is made up of almost entirely Vedalken, and just about every citizen is a follower of the School of Time. The city tends to trade extensively for food and resources, exporting only knowledge and technology in exchange. Jagaru Auni Jagaru Auni is the second largest city in the island; it is also the center of trade between the white and gold island. This port has been on the upswing as trade has increased with the White island. This town is also the base of the School of Machine, and advanced divine-based machinery runs most of the town's production. Anor Lok Anor Lok is a ruined pre-turoon megacity located in the center of the northwest desert. The city has not been resettled due to its remoteness and lack of water source. The city's location is mostly unknown, but the humans of the island regard it as an omen of disaster, suggesting it appears for those doomed to the sand. Leizkeda Leizkeda is a small desert alcove built around pre-Turoon structures in the side of a cliff-face. Most of the residents are either Centaurs or Humans, with Centaurs being in the slight majority. Archaeological digs into the pre-Turoon ruins have proven dangerous, but those that survived suggest the ruins might contain some sort of ancient burial ground. Other Towns Berkil, Azkezu, Gagoitiaoi These three towns are populated almost entirely by humans. They are poor, farming towns that make up the agricultural base of the island. They are in the less jungled area, but are frequently harassed by wyverns are other predatory animals. Askegia, Gaitzuga These two towns are buried deep in the jungle. They are made up of Tieflings who live in scientific slavery. They are treated like test subjects of their Vedalken overlords. Experiments involving their minds and souls are constantly run in attempts to understand the nature of the Tiefling's existence. The Tieflings are held in these towns like prisoners, and thus are always trying to escape their prison. However, if they escape, they are out in the deep jungle with no supplies and no idea of where they are. Religion The Imperial religious organization of the Gold Island is known as the Tzolk'in Protectors. The bible of the Tzolk'in Protectors describes that the first people of the Gold Island were given a watch to represent the domains their power represents. After much argument, the founders of the church determined that their power could be best contained and utilized through the creation of three separate suborders of the church. These suborders are known as The School of Time, The School of Machine, and The School of Alchemy. These three schools work together to best preserve the sanctity of the Gold Dragon's power and further technology in all of the islands. The large majority of scientists of the Tzolk'in Protectors are registered wizards, trained in the Academy in the Silver Island. All of the schools tend to be allowed to do whatever they wish in the name of progress. They essentially are the ruling class of the island, considering the government essentially works for them. Structure The structure of the Tzolk'in Protectors is similar to that of a church, with some variation and focus on contributions. Participation in high levels of the protectors is seen as a priviledge and an accomplishment. High ranking members of the protectors are respected even above those of the government. The church is divided into three schools: The School of Time, The School of Machine, and The School of Alchemy. Each of these schools has their own independent bureaucracy, but they all follow the same pattern. Each school follows a bureaucracy in which the higher positions appoint the lower positions all the way down until the lowest priests appoint outstanding worshipers of the church into their positions as they move up the ladder. This system means that promotions are common, and if one person leaves or dies, the whole line moves upwards. The three schools are required to appoint a high priest. The high priest of each school is responsible for representing their school in meetings with the arch priest regarding urgent issues. The Schools School of Time The School of Time is the school embodied by the ethics of the Vedalken. Vedalken are progress minded, and see fulfillment as the progression of ideas. They believe progress is nonlinear, they embrace the faults of the world, their theories, and their friends. While they always strive to correct these faults, they revel in that there will always be unanswerable questions. The School of Time aligns almost one for one with these ideas. It is both nihilist and scientific, constantly striving to understand the unknown while accepting that they will fail daily. The domains of the school itself are time, research, and science. The School of Time prefers to research the spiritual rather than the material. They philosophize around the nature of the spirit, magic, and death. Their inventions are more likely to come in the forms of new spells and books rather than a construct. They are led by high priest Iktan Ixazalvoh, a female vedalken. She is known as an evildoer across the isles for her scientific imprisonment of hundreds of Tieflings in the deep jungle of the island. Her work is largely understood as an outlier in the School of Time, and, while her rule is supported, her work is not. School of Machine The School of Machine is the most corporeal of the schools. They use hard science and magic to create machines. They see the practice of machine-creation, or artificing, as a holy practice. They guard the science of artifice to all outside the protectors, and very rarely give inventions to commoners. The School of Machine is the most human-populated school. The School of Machine sees progress as a linear process. They believe in careful, but precise, science. They are exacting and intelligent, rarely forgetting a gear or incantation. The School of Machine is almost only material. They rarely philosophize, believing that mortality, happiness, and dreams are all merely constructions of powers beyond us. They see the examination of life as looking at someone else's work; why would we ever examine a god's work when we could become gods over our own creations? They are led by high priest Truvex Alpentine, a male human School of Alchemy The School of Alchemy combines science and philosophy to develop a new way of examining the world. They see the world as energy, not objects. They follow the laws of equivalent exchange and mesh it with the magical field to make creations from their components. Their magic is faster and less precise than the School of Machine, but their process of creation is entirely different from any other across the isles. The School of Alchemy has an entirely different view of the world than the other schools. They see the world as energy. This view means that everything can be assigned a numerical value, and the function of a gear and a human is no different if they have the same value. Progress to Alchemists is a goal to strive for, they see progress linearly but believe mistakes drive us to bigger goals. The School of Alchemy rests somewhere between material and spiritual, or perhaps outside of all of it. Currently, their craft seems to simply serve as an alternative magic, but practicers believe there will be a day when the individual powers of each object can be transmuted without limit. They see the examination of life as a question already answered, the goal of life is to be powerful, who would question that? They are led by high priest Kabio Chac, a male elf who left the imperials in search of knowledge. Government The government of the Gold Island is meant to work as assistance to the Tzolk'in Protectors, upholding order and lawfulness while allowing the research of the Protectors to continue. The government is made up of officers and a high command, forming a makeshift police department. This government is referred to as the Tlaka Ordni, meaning "People of Order" in ancient Vedalken. The laws the of the island are range from common sense to cruel. Generally, they uphold similar laws to that of any medieval kingdom, but they specifically desire government control and permits over any major change in an individual's life. Think of them like a medieval kingdom that is also trying to constantly provide a control group for a team of scientists. Relationship with the Church It is crucial to note that the Tlaka Ordni were established by the Tzolk'in Protectors as a way to delegate the role of maintaining order on the island. The Tlaka Ordni are not just in the pocket of the protectors, they are the inferiors of the protectors. Their existence is only justified by their ability to keep political, economic, and military issues away from the focused minds of the protectors. This role is well understood by the protectors. Priests of Tzolk'in are in their right to run around doing whatever they want. In the past, priests have gone off the rails and had to be stopped by higher ranking members of the clergy. Tlaka Ordni on the Social Ladder The reality for the people of the Gold Island is that the Vedalken grip on the church is unbreakable. Vedalken typically live hundreds of years, and the current priests understand that appointing a long-lived Vedalken as their successor is much easier than risking their name on a human who could get sick and die any minute. As such, the humans are pushed to other jobs like farming and fishing, but for those who are more combat inclined, the Tlaka Ordni put out a tempting offer. Structure The Tlaka Ordni have several divisions of service, and use military rankings to denote hierarchy. The general structure of their rankings goes as follows, with the lowest ranking being last: * General (commander of all Tlaka Ordni) * Commander (commander of a branch of service) * Major (commander of a group of squads) * Major Lieutenant (assistant to a major) * Captain (commander of a squad, lowest commanding ranking) * Corporal Auxiliary (second rank soldier) * Auxiliary (first rank soldier) There are numerous in-between rankings in the Tlaka Ordni that were not included in this list, but these represent the jumps in what would be expected of a soldier. In addition, there are branch and sub-branch specific rankings not included here. The Branches of Service The Tlaka Ordni have multiple functions in society, depending on their branch of service. That said, all Tlaka Ordni are expected to apprehend criminals and maintain peace where they can. In addition, they are all expected to bow the knee to members of the protectors, and defer to them when push comes to shove. Administrative Division Undoubtedly the most boring branch, the Administrative Division is a small collection of bureaucrats trying to maintain constant tabs on the citizenry. They consist of mainly dropouts from the clergy, or particularly mathematically gifted humans. The Gold Island is certainly a place for government overreach, and as such this division always has paperwork to chew through. While it sounds grueling, the work of this division keeps the island running, and those who make it high here are rewarded with great pay. Having a high ranking division member in the family can elevate a group out of poverty. They are led by Commander John Ginsman Guardsmen Division The Guardsmen division make up the bulwark of the Tlaka Ordni. They are responsible for keeping the people safe and under control. They are compiled of military men who range from overweight to master fighters. They have jurisdiction over the streets and they are not afraid to use it. The Guardsmen are often seen as thugs working for the Vedalken, and for the most part they are. They are viewed as villains to the people, and those who join them are seen as having sold out to the church. They are led by Commander Fernand "The Sword-Whore" Yarron, a known schemer and formidable fighter. Field Warden Division The Field Wardens are what the foreigners would equate to adventurers. They are made up of the most elite fighters of the island, given full time employment in the service of the Tlaka Ordni. Make no mistake, the Field Wardens are still members of the Tlaka Ordni, and they still take orders like any other guardsmen. What makes the Field Wardens different is their jurisdiction. The Field Wardens are given jurisdiction over the wilds of the island. They are given orders from superiors when a monster comes too close to a town, or when a mysterious ruin appears. They perform adventurers' work in place of adventurers. Unfortunately for foreigners, the existence of the Field Wardens makes adventuring and monster hunting illegal unless a permit is obtained, and these permits are almost never given out. Luckily for the locals, the Field Wardens have a penchant for being quick, ruthless, and effective at their jobs. They are led by Commander Chal Chiutl he is known as "The Golden Emerald" for his beautiful and brutal fighting style. He a rare half-elf The People The unfortunate reality of the Gold Island is that there are clear race-based roles for the different mortals of the island. There are several huge gaps between the different types of mortals that inhabit the island. Speaking meta-wise, the racial divisions of the island are a profound force in my world. The attitudes of the different races towards each other have to be present for the portrayal to be accurate. That said, the grey area is up to the reader, so the Vedalken could be anywhere from assholes to ignorant of their discrimination. My head-canon is that in most cases the Vedalken are decent towards the other races, but it is the institutions in place that cause these class divides to emerge. In my canon, the more powerful Vedalken tend to be more racist, and Iktan Ixazalvoh is a complete asshole. The Vedalken have almost complete political control over the island, and enjoy a life higher in society than everyone else. This dominance is due to the nature of the power given to the island. The Vedalken are learning based, long lived, and focused on ideals. As such, the power bestowed on the island best suits their traits, so Turoon made them the controllers of the protectors. Since then, they have become the dominant race on the island. While they sometimes make their way into the church, the Humans and Centaurs make up the bulk of the middle and lower classes. They are farmers, fishermen, traders and warriors. Often they find themselves being stepped on by some failed experiment of the Vedalken. The Tieflings of the island live in imprisonment. Their settlements have become stations of research for the Vedalken. In their efforts to create a natural living environment with which to study the Tieflings, the Vedalken have established prisons in which Tieflings are subjected to inhumane conditions. This imprisonment is almost entirely the fault of Iktan Ixazalvoh, the high priest of the School of Time.